CHICAGO  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 
LIBRARY 

1856-1906 

A  HANDBOOK 


LAWRENCE  J.  GUTTER 

Collection  of  Chicogoono 

THE   UNIVERSITY   OF   ILLINOIS 
AT  CHICAGO 

The  University  Library 


CHICAGO  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 
LIBRARY 


1856-1906 


A  HANDBOOK 


CHICAGO 

1906 


Eht  ILakteitJt  Press 

DONNELLEY  &  SONS  COMPANY,  PRINTERS 
CHICAGO 


OFFICERS 

OF  THE 

Chicago    Historical   Society 

1905-6 

President 

FRANKLIN  H.   HEAD 

Vice-Presidents 

THOMAS  DENT 

LAMBERT  TREE 

Treasurer 

ORSON  SMITH 

Secretary 

JAMES  W.   FERTIG 

Librarian 

CAROLINE  M.   McILVAINE 

Executive  Committee 

FRANKLIN  H.   HEAD,  Chairman,   ex  officio 

Term  ending  November,  1906 

GEORGE  MERRYWEATHER 

WILLIAM  A.   FULLER 

Term  ending  November,  1907 

EDWARD  E.   AYER 

CHARLES  F.   GUNTHER 

Term  ending  November,  1908 

SAMUEL  H.   KERFOOT,  Jr. 

JOSEPH  T.   BOWEN 

Term  ending  November,  1909 

OTTO  L.   SCHMIDT 
WALTER  C.    NEWBERRY 

3 


Trustees   of    the  Gilpin    Fund 
EUGENE  H.   FISHBURN 
CLARENCE  A.  BURLEY 
WALTER  L.  FISHER 
ERSKINE  M.   PHELPS. 
THE  PRESIDENT  and 
FIRST  VICE-PRESIDENT 

ex  officiis 

Sub-Committees    of    the    Executive    Committee 

FINANCE 

MR.   AVER 
MR.   FULLER 
MR.   BOWEN 


house  and  collections 
MR.  KERFOOT 
MR.   MERRYWEATHER 
GENERAL  NEWBERRY 


LIBRARIES 

MR.   MERRYWEATHER 
DR.   SCHMIDT 
MR.   AYER 


lectures  and  entertainments 
DR.  SCHMIDT 
MR.  GUNTHER 
MR.  KERFOOT 


AUDITING 

MR.  FULLER 

MR.  MERRYWEATHER 

GENERAL  NEWBERRY 


CHICAGO   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   LIBRARY 

Previous  to  the  great  Chicago  fire  of  187 1  there  were  but 
two  libraries  in  Chicago  open  to  the  public.  One  of  these 
was  that  of  the  Young  Men's  Association,  organized  in  1841. 
The  other  was  the  Chicago  Historical  Society  Library, 
founded  in  1856,  which  may  be  said  to  have  had  a  continuous 
existence  of  fifty  years,  for  although  the  entire  collection, 
amounting  to  100,000  volumes,  manuscripts,  and  pamph- 
lets, was  destroyed  October  9,  1871,  yet  before  the  end 
of  November  of  that  year,  active  steps  had  been  taken 
to  resume  the  work.  Sister  societies  in  all  parts  of  this 
country,  and  even  abroad,  contributed  their  publications  and 
duplicates,  and  the  New  England  Historic  Genealogical 
Society,  of  Boston,  placed  a  room  in  its  new  fire-proof 
building  at  the  disposal  of  this  Society,  to  which  the  vari- 
ous donations  were  sent  until  a  safe  place  of  deposit 
could  be  provided.  Very  considerable  collections  were  soon 
made  and  forwarded  to  Chicago,  only  to  be  consumed  in  the 
fire  of  July,  1874.  Undismayed  by  this  second  calamity,  a 
few  enterprising  and  cultured  men,  true  to  the  brave  and 
sterling  qualities  for  which  Chicago  has  become  famous, 
stood  together  and  began  again  the  work  of  the  Society,  at  a 
time  when  men  of  less  exalted  ideals  would  have  felt  justified 
in  turning  their  whole  attention  to  the  re-establishment  of 
their  own  homes.  As  the  result  of  such  heroic  effort  the 
Society  met  for  the  first  time  in  its  temporary  building, 
October  16,  1877,  with  the  nucleus  of  a  third  collection,  and 
with  a  prestige   heightened  by  these  vicissitudes.     It  was 

5 


6  Chicago   Historical    Society  Library 

even  possible  to  reassemble  the  greater  portion  of  the  rare 
books  and  newspapers  destroyed,  for  members  of  the  Society 
contributed  their  personal  copies  of  these  works,  and  hun- 
dreds of  volumes  in  the  Library  bear  the  autographs  of  pioneer 
citizens. 

An  attempt  to  give  a  list  of  the  prominent  residents  who 
have  been  members  of  this  organization  and  supporters  of 
its  Library  would  result  in  naming  almost  every  public-spirited 
man  who  has  aided  in  developing  the  commercial,  artistic, 
and  literary  growth  of  Chicago.  The  officers  who  have  suc- 
cessively served  the  Society  are  as  follows: 

Presidents. — William  H.  Brown,  Walter  L.  Newberry, 
J.  Young  Scammon,  Edwin  H.  Sheldon,  Isaac  N.  Arnold, 
E.  B.  Washburne,  Edward  G.  Mason,  John  N.  Jewett, 
and  the  present  incumbent,  Franklin  H.  Head. 

Secretaries  and  Librarians. — Rev.  William  Barry  (the 
founder  of  the  Society),  assisted  by  Samuel  Stone;  Thomas 
H.  Armstrong,  Lemuel  G.  Olmstead,  J.  W.  Hoyt,  William 
Corkran,  Belden  F.  Culver,  Albert  D.  Hagar,  assisted  by 
Charles  Harpel;  John  Moses,  Charles  Evans,  James  W. 
Fertig,  present  Secretary;  Caroline  M.  Mcllvaine,  present 
Librarian. 

Sources  of  Income.— Mr.  Henry  D.  Gilpin,  a  public- 
spirited  and  scholarly  citizen  of  Philadelphia,  who  died  in 
i860,  made  a  bequest  to  the  Society,  which  yielded  $75,000, 
for  the  erection  of  a  fire-proof  library  building,  and  above 
$64,000  for  Its  endowment.  Others  who  have  made  bequests 
to  the  Society  have  been  John  Crerar,  Lucretia  Pond,  George 
M.  Pullman,  Elizabeth  Hammond  Stickney,  Jonathan  Burr, 
Philo  Carpenter,  Mrs.  J.  Y.  Scammon,  Huntington  W. 
Jackson,  Henry  J.  Willing,  Elias  T.  Watkins,  and  T.  Mauro 
Garrett.     The    interest    on  these  funds,  together  with    the 


Chicago    Historical    Society    Library  7 

dues  of  its  members,  constitute  the  only  sources  of  revenue 
of  the  Society. 

Buildings. — The  Society  has  occupied  successively  the 
following  homes:  1856-68,  Newberry  Building,  northeast 
corner  Wells  and  Kinzie  streets;  1868-71,  Society's  Build- 
ing (first),  Dearborn  Avenue  and  Ontario  Street;  1872-74, 
number  209  Michigan  Avenue;  1877-92,  Society's  Building 
(second),  Dearborn  Avenue  and  Ontario  Street;  1892-96, 
collections  stored;  since  1896  Society's  Building  (third), 
Dearborn  Avenue  and  Ontario  Street.  In  1892  the  Henry 
D.  Gilpin  fund,  having  by  careful  investment  more  than 
doubled  itself,  and  the  legacy  under  the  will  of  John  Crerar 
having  become  available,  it  was  determined  to  solicit  from 
its  members  subscriptions  for  the  erection  of  a  permanent 
fire-proof  home  for  the  Society,  on  the  site  at  the  corner  of 
Dearborn  Avenue  and  Ontario  Street  so  long  identified  with 
its  history.  To  this  appeal  the  members  responded  with 
their  unfailing  liberality.  The  temporary  building  being 
cleared  away,  the  corner-stone  of  the  new  structure  was  laid 
with  appropriate  ceremonies,  November  12,  1892,  and  on 
the  evening  of  December  15,  1896,  in  the  presence  of  a 
brilliant  and  representative  gathering,  the  formal  dedication 
took  place. 

To  the  energy  of  its  president,  Edward  G.  Mason,  who 
was  at  once  a  man  of  affairs,  an  historian,  and  a  bibliophile, 
this  consummation  of  the  designs  of  the  early  founders  is 
due.  Under  his  direction,  and  at  a  cost  of  $190,000,  ex- 
clusive of  the  land,  a  scheme  of  fire-proof  construction  and 
furnishing  was  executed  which  in  completeness  has  no  equal 
in  a  building  used  for  similar  purposes  in  the  world.  The 
design  is  Romanesque  and  being  carried  out  in  Aberdeen 
red  granite,  steel,  and  tile,  the  effect  is  one  of  massiveness, 


8  Chicago  Historical   Society  Library 

and  great  durability  is  secured.  The  absolute  safety  from 
fire  has  aided  to  make  this  Library  a  repository  for  dona- 
tions of  valuable  manuscripts,  relics,  and  portraits. 

After  passing  the  outer  doors  of  ornamental  bronze  one 
enters  the  main  hall,  which  extends  two  stories  in  height,  and 
is  lighted  from  above  by  a  sky-light.  This  hall  is  devoted  to 
portraits  and  relics  of  representatives  of  the  French  r/gime 
in  the  Mississippi  Valley.  Here  is  a  fireplace  built  of  relics 
of  the  great  fire — stones  taken  from  the  old  Illinois  Central 
depot.  Cook  County  Court  House,  and  the  Nixon  Building. 

At  the  left  of  the  entrance  is  the  Reading  Room,  the  walls 
of  which  are  hung  with  portraits  of  historical  characters 
connected  with  the  history  of  Illinois.  Here,  also,  are  kept 
current  periodicals,  reference  works,  and  the  file  of  the 
Chicago  Tribune,  which,  with  its  predecessors,  the  Press 
and  the  Democrat,  goes  back  to  1833.  Back  of  the  Reading 
Room  is  the  Gilpin  Library,  which  at  night  is  shut  off  from 
the  rest  of  the  building  by  sHding  iron  doors.  Here  the 
books  are  all  stored  in  iron  cases  with  movable  stone  shelves. 

On  the  right  of  the  main  entrance  is  the  John  Crerar 
Hall,  the  lecture  hall  of  the  Society,  where  are  placed  marble 
busts  and  oil-portraits  of  persons  prominent  in  the  history  of 
Chicago,  who  have  been  members  of  this  Society. 

Ascending  the  broad  stairway  from  the  main  hall,  one 
passes  a  series  of  bronze  relief  portraits  by  Kemeys,  of  the 
French  explorers,  Indians,  and  some  of  the  famous  hunters 
and  trappers  of  the  Central  West.  On  the  second  landing 
hangs  a  full-length  oil-portrait  of  Shabona,  the  well-known 
Chicago  Indian,  painted  from  life  by  Webber.  Scenes  in 
the  life  of  Father  Marquette,  done  in  relief  by  McNeil, 
occupy  the  gallery  about  the  main  hall  on  the  second  floor. 
From  this  gallery  open  the  Manuscript  Room,  the  Stickney 


Chicago    Historical    Society    Library  9 

Library,  and  the  Museum,  which  latter  contains  objects 
illustrating  the  development  of  the  Chicago  region  from 
prehistoric  times  to  the  present. 

On  the  third  floor  are  the  Newspaper  Room,  the  United 
States  Document  Room,  and  the  Duplicate  Room. 

Scope  of  the  Library — Contrary  to  popular  belief  the 
Library  does  not  consist  mainly  of  works  relating  to  Chicago, 
although  its  collection  of  Chicago  material  is  probably  more 
extensive  than  that  of  any  other  library.  As  stated  in  its 
constitution  the  Society  was  formed  "to  collect  and  preserve 
the  materials  of  history,  and  to  spread  historical  information, 
especially  concerning  the  Northwestern  states."  By  com- 
mon consent  this  has  been  extended  to  include  the  Mississippi 
Valley.  With  the  above  object  in  view  the  officers  of  the 
Society  have,  through  the  years,  watched  the  book-marts  of 
the  world  to  purchase  for  the  Library  the  source  books,  and 
above  all  the  manuscripts  and  documents,  which  would  make 
this  collection  a  store-house  for  future  writers  and  teachers 
of  history,  where  might  be  found  all  the  materials  for  refer- 
ence and  original  research  relative  to  every  line  of  interest 
in  the  Middle  West.  In  fact,  "history"  has  been  defined  in 
its  broadest  sense  to  include  all  that  goes  to  make  up  the 
development  of  this  region  along  economic,  social,  political, 
scientific,  and  artistic  lines.  The  total  number  of  volumes, 
manuscripts,  and  pamphlets  is  140,000. 

Manuscripts.— The  James  Madison  Papers,  1778- 1836, 
purchased  for  the  Society  by  Mr.  Marshall  Field,  consist  of 
eight  large  volumes,  containing  some  1,400  letters  and 
papers,  written  during  the  time  Madison  was  delegate 
to  the  Continental  Congress,  member  of  the  Constitutional 
Convention,  and  of  the  first  Congress,  Secretary  of  State, 
and  President  of  the  United  States.     Three  volumes  con- 


lo  Chicago  Historical  Society  Library 

tain  the  letters  of  John  Armstrong,  Joseph  Jones,  and 
Edmund  Randolph  to  James  Madison,  and  throw  light  upon 
all  the  important  occurrences  of  those  times. 

The  James  Wilkinson  Papers,  1 779-1 823,  are  contained 
in  four  magnificent  folio  volumes,  bound  in  full  morocco, 
and  each  manuscript  is  mounted  separately.  In  this  collec- 
tion, besides  letters  written  by  Wilkinson,  are  letters  from 
Thomas  Jefferson,  Timothy  Pickering,  General  Dearborn, 
W.  C.  C.  Claiborne,  Governor  of  Louisiana;  Marquis  of 
Casa  Calvo,  Spanish  commandant  at  New  Orleans;  Morales, 
Spanish  commandant  at  Pensacola;  Auguste  Chouteau,  of 
St.  Louis;  and  copies  of  letters  from  Aaron  Burr  and  others 
relating  to  Burr's  movements  and  capture. 

The  Ninian  Edwards  Papers,  consisting  of  the  letters  and 
documents,  pubhc  and  private  (i 800-32),  of  Illinois 's  terri-^ 
torial  governor,  are  an  especially  interesting  commentary 
upon  the  politics  and  manners  of  his  day,  particularly  in  the 
Northwest.  A  portion  of  these  papers  form  volume  III.  of 
the  Society's  Collections,  for  the  publication  of  which  the 
Society  is  indebted  to  Mr.  Marshall  Field. 

The  Pierre  Menard  Papers  comprise  three  quarto  volumes, 
largely  official  documents  of  the  first  lieutenant  governor  of 
Illinois,  who  held  almost  every  office  in  the  power  of  the 
people  of  IlUnois  to  bestow. 

The  papers  relating  to  the  French  regime  in  Illinois  and 
in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  consist  of  original  documents  and 
letters  in  the  handwriting  of  Joliet,  Allouez,  La  Salle,  Tonty, 
Frontenac,  and  other  governors  of  New  France,  copies  of 
the  parish  registers  of  the  early  French  missions,  etc. 
Among  these  documents  is  the  letter  of  La  Salle,  dated  at 
Chicagou,  September  i,  1683,  in  which  he  gives  his  parting 
directions  to  Tonty  and  the  little  band  left  at  Fort  St.  Louis. 


Chicago  Historical  Society   Library  ii 

Another  document  of  even  greater  historic  interest  is  the 
deed,  or  bill  of  sale,  given  by  Fran9ois  de  la  Forest,  the 
partner  of  Tonty,  to  Michel  Acau,  by  which  De  la  Forest's 
share  of  the  land  that  is  now  Starved  Rock,  was  conveyed  to 
Acau,  This  is  in  all  probability  the  first  deed  to  real  estate 
within  the  present  state  of  Illinois. 

The  Papers  of  President  James  K.  Polk  consist  of  the 
Diary  kept  during  his  administration,  1845-48,  and  original 
drafts  of  documents,  1826-48. 

In  addition  to  the  above  collection  the  Society  has  some 
14,000  individual  manuscripts  bound  and  indexed.  These 
consist  of  many  documents,  letters,  and  reminiscences  of 
IlHnois  pioneers,  and  additions  are  constantly  being  made 
by  early  residents. 

Gilpin  Library. — Leaving  the  Manuscript  Room  and 
returning  to  the  first  floor,  we  come  to  the  Library  proper, 
with  its  many  dingy  russet-colored  volumes  bearing  on  their 
bindings  the  blind  or  gold  tooling  of  a  bygone  epoch. 
These  are  the  original  editions  of  the  writings  of  the  explor- 
ers of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  First  and  foremost  of  these 
rarities  is  Melchisedech  Thevenot's  Recueil  de  Voyages,  in 
which  motley  collection  of  pamphlets  Marquette's  narrative 
of  his  voyage  down  the  Mississippi  first  saw  the  light  in 
print,  though  in  abridged  form,  and  accompanied  by  a  map 
which  Marquette  never  saw.  Next  to  this  little  volume 
stands  the  reprint  made  for  Mr.  Obadiah  Rich  in  Paris  in 
1845,  being  number  64  of  an  edition  of  125  numbered 
copies.  And  next  to  this  the  Dutch  translation  of  Pieter 
vander  Aa,  Leyden,  1 707 .  An  opportunity  to  compare  these 
printed  records  with  the  manuscript  originals  occurred  during 
the  winter  of  1904-05  "when  those  precious  documents  were 
loaned  to  the  Society  and  were  on  exhibition  for  several  weeks. 


12  Chicago   Historical   Society  Library 

together  with  other  archives  from  the  College  of  St.  Mary's 
at  Montreal. 

Here,  also,  is  the  Dernihes  d/couvertes  dans  VAmerique 
septentrionale  de  M.  de  la  Sale,  par  Tonti,  Paris,  1687, 
which  Tonti  repudiated,  and  the  English  translation  of  the 
faithful  Joutel's  Journal  of  the  Last  Voyage  performed  by 
Monsr.  de  la  Sale,  London,  17 14;  here  we  may  read  Henne- 
pin's version  of  affairs  in  French,  Dutch,  and  EngHsh,  like- 
wise that  of  La  Honton.  Later  we  find  Charlevoix,  La 
Potherie,  the  Jesuit  Relations,  Margry,  etc. 

The  collection  in  the  department  of  geography  and  travels 
beginning  with  the  nineteenth  century  lacks  few  if  any  works 
of  importance,  and  contains  many  volumes  of  the  greatest 
rarity.  Here  are  numerous  editions  of  Lewis  and  Clark, 
Patrick  Gass,  and  other  early  travelers. 

The  collection  of  maps,  directories,  gazetteers,  and  guides 
to  the  Central  West  is  remarkably  rich,  and  among  these  latter 
are  many  rare  and  curious  emigrants'  guides  filled  with  direc- 
tions and  advice  to  prospective  settlers.  The  collection  of 
county  atlases  and  histories  of  Illinois  and  the  surrounding 
states  is  also  large. 

A  great  effort  has  been  made  to  assemble  examples  of  all 
the  early  newspapers  and  periodicals  published  in  Illinois, 
with  the  result  that  over  two  hundred  titles  are  catalogued, 
forming  an  almost  inexhaustible  source  of  information  as  to 
the  politics,  manners,  and  customs  of  bygone  days. 

The  Library  is  a  government  repository  for  United  States 
documents,  and  also  receives  the  publications  of  Illinois  and 
the  surrounding  states.  Notable  in  this  department  are  the 
rare  original  editions  of  the  statutes  of  the  Northwest  Terri- 
tory, Indiana  Territory,  and  Illinois  Territory,  1788  to  18 18, 
comprising  seventeen  volumes. 


Chicago    Historical    Society    Library  13 

Classification  and  Cataloguing — Reclassification  by  the 
Cutter  Expansive  plan  for  special  collections  is  in  progress. 
A  typewritten  card-catalogue  of  the  dictionary  type  is  in 
course  of  preparation.  The  special  catalogue  of  maps  chrono- 
logically arranged  under  localities  contained  1,500  entries 
January  i.  An  Index  of  Portraits  of  residents  of  Illinois 
and  the  adjacent  states  contains  at  date  over  12,000  entries, 
drawn  entirely  from  oil-portraits,  portrait  busts,  photographs, 
and  illustrated  books  in  the  possession  of  the  Society. 

Publications. — The  series  of  Collections  published  by 
the  Society  consists  at  present  of  the  following:  Volume  I., 
History  of  the  English  Settlement  in  Edwards  County,  Illi- 
nois, by  George  Flower,  with  notes  by  Honorable  E.  B. 
Washburne,  1882,  408  p.;  Volume  II.,  Sketch  of  Enoch 
Long,  an  Illinois  Pioneer,  by  Harvey  Reid,  1884,  112  p., 
the  two  preceding  volumes  being  pubhshed  at  the  expense 
of  the  late  Levi  Z.  Leiter;  Volume  III.,  The  Edwards 
Papers,  edited  by  E.  B.  Washburne,  1884,  632  p.;  Volume 
IV.,  Early  Chicago  and  Illinois,  Sketches  of  Gurdon  S. 
Hubbard,  and  others,  1889,  400  p.  In  addition  to  the 
above  the  Society  has  published  some  forty  papers  on  his- 
torical subjects  presented  at  its  meetings,  and  the  Annual  Re- 
ports of  the  Executive  Committee,  which  contain  the  Libra- 
rian's reports. 

Lectures.  —Historical  lectures  are  maintained  during  each 
winter. 

Regulations. — The  Library,  Museum,  and  collection  of 
paintings  are  open  daily,  except  Sunday,  from  9  a.m.  to 
5  P.M.,  and  are  free  to  visitors.  Classes  of  pupils  from  the 
schools,  under  fifteen  years  of  age,  must  be  accompanied  by 
their  teachers. 

Officers. — President,  Franklin  H.  Head;  vice-presidents. 


14  Chicago  Historical   Society  Library 

Thomas  Dent  and  Lambert  Tree;  treasurer,  Orson  Smith; 
secretary,  J.  W.  Fertig;  executive  committee,  Edward  E. 
Ayer,  Joseph  T.  Bowen,  William  A.  Fuller,  Charles  F. 
Gunther,  Samuel  H.  Kerfoot,  Jr.,  George  Merry  weather, 
Walter  C.  Newberry,  and  Otto  L.  Schmidt. 

Caroline  M.   McIlvaine,  Librarian. 


732> 


